Opa-locka, Florida facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Opa-locka, Florida Opa-tisha-wocka-locka (Seminole)
City
City of Opa-locka
Opa-locka City Hall
Seal
Location in Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida
U.S. Census Bureau map showing city limits
Country	United States of America
State	Florida
County	Miami-Dade
Incorporated	May 14, 1926
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
Area
• Total	4.48 sq mi (11.61 km2)
• Land	4.31 sq mi (11.16 km2)
• Water	0.17 sq mi (0.45 km2)  3.13%
Elevation	7 ft (2 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	16,463
• Density	3,821.49/sq mi (1,475.60/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	33054, 33014 (Hialeah)
Area code(s)	305, 786, 645
FIPS code	12-51650

Opa-locka (/ˈoʊpəˌlɒkə/) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Spanning roughly 4.1 square miles, it is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 16,463, up from 15,219 in 2010.

Opa-locka was founded in 1926 by American aviator and industrialist Glenn Curtiss, who was inspired by the Middle Eastern folk tales of the One Thousand and One Nights. As such, the city has the largest collection of Moorish Revival architecture in the Western Hemisphere, and many of its roads bear names such as Sharazad Boulevard, Sinbad Avenue, Sabur Lane, Sultan Avenue, Ali Baba Avenue, Perviz Avenue, and Sesame Street.

The name Opa-locka is an abbreviation of a Seminole place name, Opa-tisha-wocka-locka, meaning "wooded hummock", "high, dry hummock", or "a big island covered with many trees and swamps".

History

Opa-locka was founded by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss in 1926. Curtiss developed the city with a Moorish architecture theme. While the 1926 Miami hurricane badly damaged the city and brought the Florida land boom to a halt, several Moorish-style buildings survived. Twenty of the original Moorish Revival architecture buildings have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Opa-locka Thematic Resource Area.

Amelia Earhart launched her historic trip around the world from Miami Municipal Airport, just south of Opa-locka. The famous German dirigible Graf Zeppelin visited Naval Air Station Miami, which later became Opa-locka Airport, as a regular stop on its Germany-Brazil-United States-Germany scheduled route.

The city was the first community in the United States to commemorate the first African-American President of the United States. A mile-long section of Perviz Avenue — from Oriental Boulevard to Ali Baba Avenue — was renamed Barack Obama Avenue on February 17, 2009.

In addition to the unique buildings, Opa-locka has a large general aviation airport, three parks, two lakes and a railroad station which is currently the tri-rail station. The city is a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial zones. The city was the backdrop for the making of movies such as "Living Dreams", Texas Justice, Bad Boys II and 2 Fast 2 Furious.

On June 1, 2016, Florida Governor Rick Scott issued Executive Order Number 16-135, declaring the City of Opa-Locka to be in a state of "Financial Emergency" under Florida Statute Section 218.503. According to the Executive Order:

• The Opa-Locka City Commission had met on the same day, requesting that the governor declare the financial emergency.
• The state and the City of Opa-Locka were to execute a State and Local Agreement of Cooperation, which binds the city's actions.
• The government would appoint a Financial Emergency Board.

On the same day, the Miami Herald reported that "Millions of dollars are in arrears as the city teeters on the edge of bankruptcy" and "City officials remain under an FBI corruption investigation" The article also reported that this financial emergency was the second declared for the city since 2002.

Just over a week earlier, Opa-Locka Commissioner Terence Pinder, apparently drove his SUV into a tree at high speed, which killed him. He was scheduled to turn himself over to prosecutors the next day, having faced bribery charges.

On June 10, Governor Scott named the Financial Emergency Board, consisting of:

• Melinda Miguel – Florida Chief Inspector General, Executive Office of Governor Rick Scott
• Christian Weiss – Policy Coordinator, Executive Office of Governor Rick Scott
• Kim Mills – Director of Auditing, Florida Housing Finance Corporation
• Andrew Collins – Chief of Financial Monitoring and Accountability, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
• Angela Knecht – Program Administrator, Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• Marie Walker – Director of Auditing, Florida Department of Revenue
• J.D. Patterson, Jr. – Former Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department (Retired)
• Vernita Nelson – Assistant City Manager, City of Miami Gardens
• Frank Rollason – City Manager, North Bay Village

The City of Opa-Lacka does not have an Audit Committee to help select the public accountant to perform the independent audited financial statements, as required by Florida Statute 218.391 (2)

Miami Municipal Airport

Amelia Earhart launched her historic trip around the world from Miami Municipal Airport, established by the city's founder, aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss, then located in what is now the southern part of Opa-locka.

Opa-locka Airport

The German dirigible Graf Zeppelin visited Naval Air Station Miami, which later became Opa-locka Airport, as a regular stop on its Germany-Brazil-United States-Germany scheduled route.

In the 1950s, the Opa-locka airport—specifically Building 67—became the site of a large CIA operation, PBSuccess, run by operatives including E. Howard Hunt. The operation helped launch the U.S.-led coup in Guatemala in 1954 and was a precursor to the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961. The airfield center then served as a listening post for Cuba until the 82nd Airborne took over Opa-locka Airbase during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Geography

Opa-locka is located at 25°54′04″N 80°15′03″W / 25.901218°N 80.250824°W / 25.901218; -80.250824.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.5 square miles (12 km²). 4.3 square miles (11 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (3.13%) is water.

Surrounding areas

•   Miami Gardens
• Unincorporated Miami-Dade County Golden Glades
• Unincorporated Miami-Dade County   Golden Glades
•   Hialeah North Miami
•   Hialeah, Westview

Demographics

2010 and 2020 United States census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 16,463 people, 5,534 households, and 3,607 families residing in the city.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 15,219 people, 5,843 households, and 3,406 families residing in the city.

2000 United States census

In 2000, 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.4% were married couples living together, 35.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.52.

In 2000, the city's population was distributed as 34.6% under the age of 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males.

In 2000, $25,000 was the median income for a family. Males had a median income of $22,347 versus $19,270 for females. The per capita income for the city is approximately $15,000. About 31.5% of families and 35.2% of the population are below the poverty line, including 42.3% of those under age 18 and 40.8% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2000, speakers of English as a first language accounted for 68.45%, while Spanish made up 28.30%, French Creole 2.78%, and French was at 0.48% of the population.

Education

An Arab-inspired plaza entrance

A building with Moorish features

Miami-Dade County Public Schools serves Opa-locka.

Dr. Robert B. Ingram/Opa-locka Elementary School is located in Opa-locka. North Dade Middle School in Miami Gardens and Hialeah/Miami Lakes Senior High in Hialeah serve the city.

Library

The Opa-locka Branch library is one of the 50 branches included within the Miami-Dade Public Library System. This branch is open to the public on weekdays offering an After School Club and Storytime for children.

Religion

Opa-locka had 30 houses of worship in 1996. During that year, Oscar Musibay of the Miami New Times said, "Like South Beach has hotels, Opa-locka has churches."

Transportation

The modern Opa-Locka Tri-Rail commuter station, next door to the former Opa-Locka Railroad Station built by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and now on the National Register of Historic Places

Opa-locka is served by Opa-locka Executive Airport, owned and operated by the Miami-Dade County Aviation Department. Additionally, Opa-locka is served by Miami-Dade Transit buses and by Tri-Rail via the Opa-locka Station.

In popular culture

• Opa-locka is featured in the landmark 1969 documentary film Salesman, by the Maysles Brothers.
• An instrumental song on Hawkwind's 1975 album Warrior on the Edge of Time is named "Opa-Loka", but any connection to the town is unclear. The song eventually had lyrics added to it on a later album (PXR5) and morphed into "Uncle Sam's on Mars".
• In the 1991 film Soapdish, the leading character played by Kevin Kline is a down-and-out actor reduced to drunkenly performing the role of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman at the fictitious "Opa-Locka Dinner Theater."
• Opa-locka is mentioned in the 1995 action movie The Substitute by a black student who is being disciplined by Tom Berenger.

Notable people

• Brisco, rapper
• Harry Wayne Casey, singer
• Dalvin Cook, NFL player
• Rohan Davey, NFL player
• Thad Lewis, NFL player
• Montel Vontavious Porter, professional wrestler
• Aurin Squire, playwright

See also

In Spanish: Opa-locka para niños